From ultra processed to ultra delicious.

It may come as a surprise to discover that breakfast cereals, even the healthy looking ones that say they’re all about fibre and look sufficiently brown, are actually ultra processed foods. What?! That’s right. Many of them have had some or all of the nutritional benefits of whole grains stripped out and contain surprising amounts of sugar. For as long as I can remember I ate a certain healthy looking cereal for breakfast as I genuinely thought it set me up well for the day. Through the years of early starts with young children I confess that on many mornings my breakfast of choice was a certain brand of chocolate spread on toast. I would also let the children have this for their breakfast, and even though I knew it was unhealthy, and I couldn’t tell them not to have it because it’s what I wanted myself! There you go, full disclosure. What I know now is that for decades my breakfasts have been foods which send my blood sugar into a morning spike, which resulted in the mid-morning crash and cravings, so there I was, firmly strapped into my blood sugar rollercoaster for the rest of the day. Every day.

For a while I tried yoghurt and fruit for breakfast but never felt this filled me up sufficiently and I’d be back on the snacks by 10 am. So what’s the solution for someone who wants a healthy, filling and tasty breakfast? Actually, it turns out there are lots of options. I go through phases but here are some ideas. My current favourite is a small amount of organic rolled oats (oats can be sprayed with copious chemicals before harvesting, hence now going organic) which I soak for 10 or 15 minutes in water or oat milk. I mix in a few dollops of kefir yoghurt, a sprinkle of flaxseeds and perhaps some grated apple a la Swiss. I give it a stir, then chuck in various berries like blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, plus a few nuts like pecans or whole almonds. If I’m feeling wild, I might drizzle a bit of maple syrup on top of the pecans. Delishhh.

Another option if time is on my side, is a delicious plateful of scrambled egg, smoked salmon and some baby leaf spinach drizzled with olive oil and some slices of fresh avocado on top. This feels like breakfast fit for a king and is more like brunch which always feels like a treat.

Another option is my friend Nicola’s green smoothie recipe which genuinely converted me to green smoothies, something I’d previously disregarded! I don’t find it enough for breakfast on its own but is a good addition to other breakfast options like wholemeal toast with nut butter or some porridge. Chuck into a blender a banana, apple, flaxseeds, some fresh or frozen avocado, one block of frozen spinach, a few grapes, a teaspoon of nut butter and a generous splash of nut milk. And anything else that takes your fancy. Whizz and pour into a glass, then put the rest in an empty bottle in the fridge to have tomorrow. Genius.

All of these choices contain nutrients that are great for brain health and provide a slow and steady release of glucose into the bloodstream, setting us up much better for the day ahead. I’m happy to say that we no longer get the industrial size jars of chocolate spread, but the kids do still have the occasional weekend indulgence if they think I’m not looking…

#nutrition #breakfast #energy #bloodsugar

Written by Clare Sharpen